Group works to secure long-term
public access to
Coast Guard and South Point Higgins Beaches
By VALERIE HENDLE & SitNews

January 04, 2007
Thursday PMLast Updated January 05, 2007

Ketchikan, Alaska - Life in Ketchikan is defined by water and
the vitality of the town and its people seems linked to it. On
a very rainy Sunday in early December, twenty-five people attended
a meeting of the Ketchikan Beaches Association (KBA) in an effort
to secure long-term public access to the Coast Guard and South
Point Higgins beaches located north of Ketchikan.

This work-group meant business
with the home-based meeting area set up with three long work
tables and a multitude of chairs lining the periphery. A power
point presentation and worksheets sat poised at the head of the
tables.

There are no easy labels to
attach to those who attended the December 2nd meeting. "These
are people who care deeply about their community," says
Soren Wuerth, English Teacher. "They're here on a rainy
Sunday to work."

Coast Guard Beach
Photograph by Ardath Piston

Carrie Dolwick, the group's Coordinator, presented the day's
agenda as chili bubbled on the stove. This gathering of concerned
citizens organized around a shared vision - "the acquisition
and maintenance of our community beaches." In addition,
says Dolwick the group works "to provide opportunities for
residents to participate in the land use and planning process
in order to protect natural areas for permanent access and recreation."

The Ketchikan Beaches Association's
most immediate concern at this time is "Planning for a formal
solution to provide long-term public access to the Coast Guard
and South Point Higgins Beaches." Located north of town
close to North Point Higgins Elementary School, these beaches
have been popular spots for public education and recreation and
many Ketchikan residents have become deeply attached to this
bit of publicly accessible undeveloped coastal land.

"Both beaches are used
for beachcombing, walking dogs, family camping, hiking, picnicking,
wildlife viewing, collection of edible and medicinal plants,
clam digging, and kayaking," says Ardath Piston, one of
the Ketchikan Beaches Association's co-chairs. In addition, the
area is site to numerous outdoor programs and campouts for the
Elementary students and Boy Scouts.

In 1986 a lease was granted
for the construction of trails accessing the beaches. The first
half of the trail begins at Point Higgins Elementary and crosses
over Borough Land to the Coast Guard Beach. A grant was pending
for the completion of the second half of the trail project.

The rub is that the Coast Guard
and South Point Higgins beaches are not public lands. They are
both owned by the Alaska Mental Health Land Trust (MHLT) and
are part of the holdings used to generate revenue for the Mental
Health Authority. The lands held by MHLT were conveyed according
to the Alaska Mental Health Enabling Act. The Trust Land Office
(TLO), an office within the Department of Natural Resources,
manages the lands and is charged with "maximizing long-term
revenue from Trust Land," per TLO mission statement. According
to Doug Campbell of the Trust Land Office, the Coast Guard Beach
Tract (uplands) was "part of the original Mental Health
Trust selection and conveyed in 1963 as part of a larger selection
that included what is now the South Point Higgins School site
and Point Higgins subdivision property."

Earlier Leslie Real of the
Ketchikan Borough Planning and Community Development Department,
said the Trust Land Office has not submitted a formal rezone
application. The Trust Land Office had earlier stated its intent,
however. In a letter to the Ketchikan Gateway Borough dated November
15, 2006, the Trust Land Office requested that the "Borough
enter into a Memorandum of Agreement to design a master plan
for the tract that would incorporate a residential subdivision
and an easement for the Coast Guard Beach Trail."

However, Carrie Dolwick coordinator of the Ketchikan
Beaches Assocation in a recent letter to SitNews said the grant
to complete the trail from Point Higgins School to CGB, is no
longer pending. "The news that the grant is held up is a
huge disappointment for the Borough, who invested financially
to complete and submit the grant, and to many community members
who have invested time, energy and resources into the trail and
the important public recreation opportunities it gives to community
members," wrote Dolwick.

Dolwick said in November 2006, the Ketchikan Borough Assembly
unanimously passed resolution 2012 that authorized the submittal
of a grant application and 2013 that authorized the Borough manager
to request an update and extension of a Revocable License for
Land Use between the Mental Health Land Trust and the KGB to
allow the trail on the Alaska Mental Health Land Trust land.
The second half of the trail traverses MHLT property."

"The Alaska State Parks grant was stalled when the Alaska
Mental Health Land Trust would now allow the pursuit of necessary
permits necessary for the grant award and placed stipulations
on the Revocable License," wrote Dolwick. "During the
process to update the license, the MHLT stated in the final grant
application the that the extension of the land use license authorized
in Resolution 2013, would Authorize use of the trail by the general
public and will not authorize trail construction, reconstruction
or maintenance until such time as rezone and subdivision of Trust
land, USS 3762, also local known as Coast Guard Beach, is complete
and a permanent trail location has been determined," said
Dolwick.

Dolwick stated, "This statement called into question the
readiness of the grant application by the grant administrator
and thus led to the end of the grant possibility."

"The trail from Point Higgins Elementary School to Coast
Guard Beach is extremely important for the community," said
Dolwick. "Teachers, members of the PTA and volunteers started
planning for a trail from Point Higgins Elementary to CGB when
the school was completed in 1986. Thousands of dollars of materials
and services were donated by community members to complete the
first half of the trail. The trail is historically and currently
used by the school to access CGB for educational trips and experiences.
It is part of the school s core curriculum. The trail is also
used for community Toughies camp outs where youth learn outdoor
survival skills," said Dolwick.

Dolwick wrote, "For now the trail will go un-improved, but
it will not stop the community from frequenting the beach for
educational and recreational opportunities. The demise of the
trail grant has no effect on the mission of Ketchikan Beaches
Association to plan for formal solutions to provide long-term
public access to the Coast Guard and South Point Higgins Beaches
and uplands."

And just how many feet of coast
line are open to the public and accessible by foot in Ketchikan?
Jim Pomplun of the Ketchikan Borough Planning and Community Development
Department said, " Not counting Coast Guard or South Point
Higgins beaches, we roughly estimated perhaps 7,000 linear feet
of coastline."